The judgement confirmed an order passed by the Western Cape division of the high court. The act 65J failed to provide judicial oversight over the issuing of the garnishee order.

The judgement follows a ruling made in the Western Cape high court by Judge Siraj Desai. In the last year’s ruling the court stated that employers in the Western Cape are exempt from enforcing garnishee orders from their employees who were obtained from outside the province.

The Stellenbosch legal aid clinic brought the matter forward to the Cape Town High Court, to go against the garnishee orders issued by the court. Fin 24 reported that the people who brought the application forward were impoverished and employed as farm workers or domestic workers at the University of Stellenbosch and the surrounding areas.

The garnishee orders led to an overwhelming majority or potion of the workers’ salaries being taken off debts, said Osmond Mngomezulu, senior legal officer at The South African Human rights Commission.

The judgment is a victory for the poor, who previously did not have access to justice,” said SAHRC spokesperson Gail Smith.

Source: Tshwane News